horst Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 I know theres some construction workers and stuff in here.Just wanted to see if anyone had any idea on this.Got a call from a lady yesterday I do some work for on occasion, she bought a house here in town about a year ago and its her first winter in there. She called and said she had tore a ceiling out in her basement and noticed the bottom 2x10 plate that runs around the house was wet.I went down and it was wet but I figured it was because she recently turned the heat on down there and the cold air from the outside and hot air inside were maing it sweat. Then she was showing me some gutters she wanted changed this spring.I noticed a bucket under one metal corner on the house had about 2 inches of water standing in it.It was well below freezing and seemed funny so I asked what it was.She had put it out there about 2 hours before that because there was water dripping out from behind the siding I started looking closer and she literally has water running out from behind her metal siding all over on the north side of her house.I asked if she had any trouble inside and she said the windows on that side were soaking wet every morning as well and it was starting to rot the jams. I have no idea whats causing it, her attics got soffit vents around the outside and big gable end vents on both ends of the house.Dont know if the walls insulated very well itself but it has steel siding, with foam insulation behind it, along with the old wood siding that they went over the top of.I also believe thats where the water in the basements coming from.Anybody ever seen anything like this because Im stumped and she wants to finih a room off in the basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? There isn't a water supply going upstairs on the outside wall is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? [ QUOTE ] There isn't a water supply going upstairs on the outside wall is there? [/ QUOTE ] Kind of what I was thinking too Chris. Maybe a leaking water line somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? I would say it is definately a water leak, and not condensation of any kind. Just my opinion, I'm only a painter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drkillemquick Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? Sounds like too much water for condensation, etc, I would go with water pipe leak also! If it is dripping constanly shut the water off to the house off for a bit and see if it stops. Trace as much of the plumbing on that wall that you can to try to find it. If not you will probably have to cut some inspection holes in the walls in order to trace down the leak! My bet is she had a pipe freeze, on an exterior wall where there wasn't enough insulation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? DO NOT COUNT OUT CONDENSATION! Seriously, that is one big thing I always ran into with Metal buildings. I would try with everything in me to get customers to insulate properly, down to giving them insulation at Cost. That Metal will Condensate way more then you can imagine. If she has a few layers of siding I would guess the house is old, in said case the insulation could have easily fallen in the walls and now you're lacking a thermal barrier. The heat one the inside and the cold on the out makes for a BAD combination as you well know. Im betting the air in those walls is much warmer then and ambient air. Even with ventilation in the attic you typically have a double top plate and if it was framed as it should be there probably isn't adequate air flow to the walls. If it were water you would find puddles in the house itself as well as staining on the sheet rock. With the entire bottom plate having "damage" I would Defiantly lean toward the insulation/ siding. Something else to think about is roofing, is it composite or a metal roof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDeerHunter Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? Sounds like a water supply line rupture, get a plumber on it asap. I would definately open up the walls to and remove any insulation that has been in contact with water. I am sure that if this has been going on for any length of time the potential for mold is likely. You may be better off calling a qualified water extraction company and/or a mold specialist if mold is present. Although there is very few actual documented cases of mold causing any sort of health problem, it might be worth it to treat this problem carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganHuntr1 Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? [ QUOTE ] DO NOT COUNT OUT CONDENSATION! Seriously, that is one big thing I always ran into with Metal buildings. I would try with everything in me to get customers to insulate properly, down to giving them insulation at Cost. That Metal will Condensate way more then you can imagine. If she has a few layers of siding I would guess the house is old, in said case the insulation could have easily fallen in the walls and now you're lacking a thermal barrier. The heat one the inside and the cold on the out makes for a BAD combination as you well know. Im betting the air in those walls is much warmer then and ambient air. Even with ventilation in the attic you typically have a double top plate and if it was framed as it should be there probably isn't adequate air flow to the walls. If it were water you would find puddles in the house itself as well as staining on the sheet rock. With the entire bottom plate having "damage" I would Defiantly lean toward the insulation/ siding. Something else to think about is roofing, is it composite or a metal roof? [/ QUOTE ] Listen to the Man.... Doing construction for the last two years and i can tell you those metal buildigns drip alot. But it could be a leaky line as well..i guess id need to look at if before i could tell what was up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganHuntr1 Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? [ QUOTE ] Sounds like a water supply line rupture, get a plumber on it asap. I would definately open up the walls to and remove any insulation that has been in contact with water. I am sure that if this has been going on for any length of time the potential for mold is likely. You may be better off calling a qualified water extraction company and/or a mold specialist if mold is present. Although there is very few actual documented cases of mold causing any sort of health problem, it might be worth it to treat this problem carefully. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah Black Mold Loves that Stuff....get the wet stuff out. Fix the Problem and replace with new insulation, dont cheapen out on insulation though. Get the best stuff...it will always pay you back in energy costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetailkiller Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Re: Ventilation/ insulation question?? [ QUOTE ] Sounds like too much water for condensation, etc, I would go with water pipe leak also! If it is dripping constanly shut the water off to the house off for a bit and see if it stops. Trace as much of the plumbing on that wall that you can to try to find it. If not you will probably have to cut some inspection holes in the walls in order to trace down the leak! My bet is she had a pipe freeze, on an exterior wall where there wasn't enough insulation! [/ QUOTE ] yeah what he said.... metal buildings do condensate but this is just aluminum siding...... i'll bet it's a leak somewhere!!!!!! let us know what you find!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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